Tag: Leadership and Culture
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The Spirit of Our Team
When I was at university, I spent two years working for a homeless charity. It was the making of me. Aged 20, I had the privilege of supporting a huge range of people who had far more life experience; I learnt so much from them and about myself. I won’t bore you with the details,…
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The Social Brain: the psychology of successful groups
I’ve done a lot of reading, thinking, and ‘trying out’ when it comes to belonging in organisations and teams, always attempting to think sceptically and critically so that I follow evidence and never hitch my wagon to ‘nice to haves’, but rather get to grips of the whys and hows of groups working well. The…
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You Have Made a Difference
This week I attended our Year 13 prom – my last as Deputy Headteacher at my school of five years. It was a wonderful occasion. At 17-18 years old, the students are (mainly!) mature and interested in engaging with staff, and we spent the evening having meaningful conversations, reminiscing, talking about what’s next, and indulging…
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Resisting mutation: how to prevent psychological safety from becoming an empty buzzword (part 3)
If you have joined me for part 1 and part 2 of the series, you will now be familiar with the research behind psychological safety, its core principles, and some of the inevitable misconceptions and mutations that have arisen so far. We have acknowledged that, while the evidence for psych safety is so compelling in…
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Resisting mutation: how to prevent psychological safety from becoming an empty buzzword (part 2)
Welcome back, psychological safety and teamwork fans – thank you for returning to the series, and for all of the great feedback on part 1. In the previous post, I suggested that the term psychological safety was in danger of becoming diluted with well-intentioned but inaccurate applications of what the concept is. Even in the…
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Resisting mutation: how to prevent psychological safety from becoming an empty buzzword (Part 1)
Like many, I’ve been familiar with Psychological Safety and the work of Amy Edmondson for a number of years, and was convinced by the research (still am!) that it was a concept that could ignite the way teams thrive. I blogged about the basics of what it is and how to introduce it back in…
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Happy Economics, by Mark Price
Opening Gambit I recently had an interesting conversation with an employee at WorkL, the company dedicated to happiness at work, and used by the Sunday Times Best Places to Work run its surveys of employees. WorkL’s survey comprehensively shines a light on employee engagement and satisfaction, but Mark Price, the founder of the company, and…
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Helping your teams to thrive in autumn term 2
I’m not a huge believer in obvious or cliché claims of cause and effect. Even as a child I found it irritating when someone linked being outside for too long with catching a cold. Sometimes, things just happen! Don’t read too much into it. But, when you run staff surveys throughout the school year, you…
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Team vision: more than a stirring anecdote
Summer events often provide inspirational anecdotes for school leaders when addressing their teams, in September meetings or assemblies. An underdog, against-the-odds story from the Olympics. A holiday anecdote that demonstrates or celebrates different cultural norms. Perhaps, this summer, it will be the resilience and collaboration of communities in the face of riots. To my shame…
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Eleven Rings, by Phil Jackson
Opening Gambit I love Michael Jordan’s story and career. Growing up in the 1990s, I was too young to understand his talent beyond watching Space Jam and collecting the Tazos (yes, remember them?!) and hearing of the infamous Chicago Bulls team featuring Jordan, and led by the author of this book, Phil Jackson. Like many,…
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The Best Place to Work, by Ron Friedman
Why I read it I read Ron Friedman’s Decoding Greatness a couple of years ago, and found it compelling. I applied many of the principles to my leadership and teaching; for example, the concept of reverse engineering to break down the key components of something successful. Check out my blog for more. I subscribe to…
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Coaching the Team at Work, by David Clutterbuck. Part One: Teams
This is a Pocket Wisdom first! I bought this book to learn more about coaching, and team coaching. These topics unite my two professional passions: high-performing teams, and coaching for development. However, the book is so densely packed with research, theory, practical ideas, and Clutterbuck’s wisdom, that I had to split the post in two.…
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The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, by Patrick Lencioni
Why I read it I really enjoyed Patrick Lencioni’s The Advantage, and have since read some of his other works, and listened to interviews and podcasts featuring his words of wisdom. Since beginning my research project on teams, I had to check out The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – a unique take on teamwork…
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Belonging, by Owen Eastwood
Why I read it: I recently connected with Rebecca Levett, a brilliant sports psychologist who also happens to be a distant relative, as we put together some thoughts for an event. During the conversation, Rebecca recommended Belonging; 3 minutes later, it was in my basket, and 48 hours later, it was perched atop my reading…
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Thanks for the Feedback, by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen
Why I read it: As part of the Thriving Teams research project that I am midway through, the importance of communication and constructive conflict keeps shining through in research and studies that I have read. After reading Radical Candor, which focuses on the art of giving feedback well in order to improve the performance of…
Sam Crome 